I’ve always prided myself on being the makeup lover who doesn’t HAVE to use higher-end cosmetics to achieve beautiful looks. I am very frugal with my money by nature and even when I have it, I don’t know…I don’t always feel inclined to spend a crazy amount of it on something disposable like…cosmetics. Which, I know, sounds crazy but I’ve tried to remain sensible in my older years.

Plowing through debt will do that to you.

That said, doing a makeup look and only using products that cost less than $30 was easy for me.

But for the record, I’m omitting powders, primers and liners for the total cost of this face, mkay? The only way I would be able to include those and keep the face under $30 is if I rocked all Wet ‘n Wild and e.l.f every thang. And as much as I love those brands, I wanted to spice it up a bit for ya’ll. And so I used these products to achieve a pretty nice look.

For the eyes, I used this sweet Limited Edition eye shadow palette from Wet ‘n Wild…

This sat in my “To Review” pile for the longest and I hate that I am just now pulling it out. That orange is fantastic and I would have loved for it to POP a bit more on my skin, but hey…we can’t have it all now, can we? There’s that pretty Sleek Bronze Block that I scooped up from Sleek a few weeks back.

And NYX’s Stacked mascara…

Also, featured in its blurry goodness is COVERGIRL’s Smoochies in Tru Love. It’s a frosty mauve. I’ve been into frosts these days. Totally tapping into my high school years.

And the look…

Let this be a lesson to you, girls. You don’t HAVE to spend a ton of money on makeup to achieve really nice looks. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I will still lust after things I can’t afford but it’s good to know that even after 7 years of blogging, I can still appreciate the drugstore babies.

Would you be able to crank out a look using products that totaled up to $30?

Okay, so let’s pretend that this mascara JUST came out. Not that it came out mannnny months ago, okay? I’m serious. I already feel bad that I haven’t done a mascara review in gee, I don’t know, 50 years but don’t make me feel worse by commenting that I’m reviewing a mascara that came out forever long ago. Mkay? Promise?

Very well, then. Let’s move on!

I received a press sample of this mascara so so long ago and it has finally worn me down. I’ve been testing it for a good week and some change and now I’m ready to talk about it!

Price: $10.79 from drugstores nationwide and at Drugstore.com.Packaging (brush wand): 4 out of 5Overall: 2.5 out of 5

What It Claims: “Flaunt the next big thing in lashes with Bombshell Volume by LashBlast Mascara! The brilliant two-step Bombshell Boost System combines extreme volume with an intensifying top coat for big, sexy bombshell lashes. Step One: Apply the extreme volume basecoat. Step Two: Finish with the intensifying top coat.”(source)

The Truth: This is the biggest mascara that I have ever seen. The wand is huge!

What I Loved About It: I do like the inclusion of 2 wands. This always bodes well with me.

What I Didn’t Like: It’s so big and clunky. It makes it difficult to hold comfortably.

Overall: Okay. So. You girls could have warned me about this one. When purchasing this mascara, you do realize that it is larger than most mascaras. But this doesn’t really ring true until you open up the package and hold it in your hand. It is a giant mascara. I could see it being rather intimidating for first time mascara users. Or for clumsy mascara users. Seriously.

Let’s look at the wands…

I will say that both wands are pretty stellar. #1 looks like it could be an identical twin to to the CG Lashblast wand. It’s the perfect wand for separating and lengthening lashes from root to tip. And #2, while not as plush as I would have liked for it to be, at first glance, it appeared to be okay in the volumizing department. The packaging says this about the wands…

I disagree as I don’t see how you can effectively volumize with such small bristles on #1, but hey! What do I know? 😉

I do think most users will find some difficulty with using the wands because they are just so bulky and hard to hold comfortably. But once (and if) you can get past that, each wand is a pleasure to use. However, the end result, I found, was just so so. After using #1, I didn’t see any big difference in using #2. My lashes didn’t look bigger and bolder and I really could just have gotten away with using #1.

Formula-wise, you’ll be happy to find that I didn’t experience any smudging. Flaking came about hours later, but I’m thinking a waterproof topcoat mascara could seal that and bring along longevity.

I don’t know, CG, this just doesn’t seem like your kind of work. It’s not the 2-wands-1 mascara thing that I have beef with, but the girth of the wand itself and the overall performance, I found to be so un user-friendly.

Bare Lashes

Lashes after 3 coats

Do I recommend it?: Those not looking for much in their mascaras will be okay with this. However, those of us who are looking big big and bold lashes will be disappointed. And having checked out some of the reviews online, it looks like many mascara lovers aren’t big fans of this mascara.

I can’t believe I am just now reviewing this mascara. I know. Bad mascara blogger. I’ve received a sample of this many moons ago and somehow it got lost in the shuffle. Ah well. These things happen. But, here we go!

Cute wand, right?

Price: $8-ish from Drugstore.comPackaging (brush wand): 3 out of 5Overall: 3 out of 5

What It Claims: “Flamed Out mascara gives you maximum volume for a flamed out lash look. Volume Igniter brush is specially designed to add volume to every lash for bigger, thicker and fuller lashes to help maximize volume.” (source)

The Truth: I’ve definitely had better from COVERGIRL.

What I Loved About It: The formula is nice. It isn’t too thick or too thin.

What I Didn’t Like: The tube is far too large and you end up with a very messy wand.

Overall: I usually have good expectations for COVERGIRL mascaras. After all, Clump Crusher was a game-changer for me. And if a brand gives me one good mascara, I want nothing but good mascaras from that point on. Consistency is a good thing, yo. I needs it to be at peace in my life. But alas, Flamed Out is not what I thought it would be. And that doesn’t mean that I’ll never try a CG mascara again, but I certainly hope they notice the errors in this mascara and give us something better. Much better.

Formula-wise, it isn’t terrible. It was a nice and workable formula that isn’t too thick or thin and coats the lashes nicely. And my issue with this mascara isn’t with the wand.

COVERGIRL calls this their Volume Ingiter Brush and it’s supposed to coat each lash. Which, I guess, would be effective if there was more mascara on the brush. And the reason why mascara has a hard time attaching itself to the brush is because of this huge hole that the wand has to come out of.

Ahhhh yes. This is quite reminiscent of another brand’s issue. Said brand rhymes with Tevlon. I’m not sure when the geniuses behind cosmetic packaging will figure it out but I hope that it’s in 2014. While there is a stopper to prevent you from pulling out a ton of mascara, the stopper actually removes too much mascara. What you’re left with is a lightly coated wand. The lightly coated wand then transfers very little to the lashes. So boo. And double boo. This makes it very difficult to see any results when applying mascara. I applied 3 coats and still didn’t get much. Womp womp. I’ve had fellow mascara lovers tell me the same thing so it appears that it’s a common issue. Oh no. But I have faith in COVERGIRL. I know that they’ll make up for this. They just gotta!

Bare Lashes

Lashes after 3 coats

Do I recommend it?: Nope. You’re better off playing with one of the many siblings in the Lash Blast family.

Hey girls! Ohmigoodness…how’s this for something different? EBONY.com and COVERGIRL are hosting the “Fabulous Beauty” contest. It’s a sweet contest because the lucky winner will score an all expense paid trip for 2 to New York City, a COVERGIRL makeover and an exclusive photo/video shoot for EBONY magazine! It’s taking everything in me to not apply.

Or maybe I willl…

The good news is applying is easy. Interested gals must simply tell how they rock their COVERGIRL beauty and what they love about themselves. Entrants must also submit a headshot and tell, in 250 words or less, ‘How does beauty empower you?’

Extra Deets….

1. One entry per person.

2. Complete entries must be submitted by 11:59PM CST on September 25, 2013.

3. Winners will be notified on September 28, 2013.

4. NYC trip and photo/video shoot occur on October 4-6, 2013.

Not up your alley? Pass it along to the beautiful lady in your life and have her enter here.

A lot of parents like to pretend like they never had a gender preference when they found out they were expecting a baby. Yeah whatever. I keeps it real. Esposo and I both wanted a boy. Mainly because we both have sisters and thought having a son would be a nice and new adventure. And then we found out we were expecting a girl and…

…we were thrilled. Baby Clumps is the best thing in our lives and she is just perfect in every way. I see why God blessed us with this girl. I am loving our Mother and daughter relationship and can’t wait to do all kinds of fun things with her.

Like polish her nails. It’ll be years before that happens though. I’m a beauty blogger, yes, but I am an old skool mama and want my daughter to fully understand that cosmetics are for fun. And they aren’t a necessity to life.

Being a mother is the scariest task ever because I don’t want to “mess her up”, ya know? I don’t want to give her a complex. I want to give her a strong foundation of love, self-acceptance and I want her to recognize beauty in all things and all people. And if she really wants it, I’ll let her have COVERGIRL’s Pink Lady polish.

I love these polishes. Mainly because most of them are pretty opaque after only 2 coats. And they are so so glossy.

Remember these? Yeah. And they dry pretty quickly too. There are some things I just can’t wait for.

Cool news, CG lovers! The brand is helping all women “own the weekends” during the Easy Breezy Block Party bus tour. Below find all stops on the tour, and if you are nearby feel free to stop by for summer inspired makeovers, manicures, and beauty tutorials. For up-to-the-minute tour location information, follow @COVERGIRL on Twitter and Instagram and use the #easybreezysummer hashtag.

Easy Breezy Block Party Bus Tour stops include:

August 2 – Chicago, IL

Lollapalooza

August 16- Santa Monica

Santa Monica Beach

August 17- Los Angeles, CA

H2O Music Festival

August 25- Brooklyn, NY

MTV Video Music Awards

Yeeeeep, I’m a bit bummed out that they aren’t coming to Florida but I’ll be living through all of you gals that can make it to the bus out in Chi-Town, Cali and NYC.

So COVERGIRL has these new lip balm-y type thingies and they take me back to being in middle school.

Did anyone else buy lip balms that looked a lot like these at the hair store? Hmm. Okay, maybe that’s just me. These are definitely better than the hair store ones because the quality is nice and they don’t smell like artificial cherry gone bad. Every few years just about every big drugstore beauty brand releases this kind of product. COVERGIRL’s Lipslicks Smoochies Lip Balms are super affordable and I like to dub them as the gateway beauty product for pre-teens and teens. This is how a beauty addiction starts, y’all. They always start with something as innocent as a lip balm.

I’d let my preteen daughter wear them because the color is subtle and they lippie is actually moisturizing. I’m rockin’ Tru Luv here and I kinda how faint this is. If it were any deeper, this shimmery mauve probably wouldn’t compliment me too much.

Not too shabby, huh? You can find these anywhere COVERGIRL products are sold for under $5. There are 12 shades of these and if you’re in the market for lip balm, you may like these. I totally want to hoard them all. Especially for nostalgia purposes.

Well well well…look who is joining the reindeer games! CoverGirl did a little something that surprised us all and launched some beautiful new polishes. I’m almost positive that they had nail polishes back in the 90’s but I’m not sure if I dreamt them up or if they actually existed. Either way, me thinks it was a good idea for them to get up on the obsession that many of us have with nail polish.

Good decision, CG.

The brand has a good 45 polishes that they’ve already launched and more will be making their ways to stores soon. I got my hands (haha, literally) on 4 of the polishes and wanted to show ’em off for you.

Just a note: You can get these anywhere CoverGirl products are sold. I’ve been seeing them at CVS and Walgreens store locations for weeks now.

Frosted Forever is a pale pink cream that almost looks white and it took a whopping 4 coats to get an opaque finish. But that’s usually the case with polishes like this. It’s a beaut. I found it to be super shiny without a top coat.

Coy Coral – ohhhhh, it’s another coral. Coral polishes are actually growing on me and I really like the peachiness of this one.

Golden Opportunity is a subtle gold foil that has a silvery hue to it. Depending on how the light hits it, it shifts from cool to warm.

Wine Stain is a dark burgundy creme and man, I don’t wear burgundy polishes enough but I should because this one is just fabulous. It has a squishy consistency and shines beautifully without a top coat.

These are just 4 of the 44 polishes that CoverGirl has currently developed. If you spy the stand in stores, you’ll see that they have a ton of different finishes; cremes, glitters, foils, shimmers…and I’m lovin’ them all. They are priced right at $5.49 and since CoverGirl products regularly go on sale in drugstores, you can easily get them cheaper.

Performance-wise, I would say that these are pretty stellar. I didn’t have any problems with the wand or formula. I found that all 4 polishes tended to be on the thin side so while you can get away with 2 coats, I think you’ll achieve a much better finish applying 3 coats of polish. And I can’t forget the shine factor. CoverGirl says that these polishes don’t need a base or top coat and I agree. I didn’t feel the need to wear a top coat with any of these polishes because they’re just so shiny. I haven’t pushed their longevity yet but then again, it’s hard for me to wear any polish for more than 3 days.

But so far…I’m impressed! I can’t wait to scoop up more of these babies. Have you spotted these polishes in store yet?

Instagram Is Love

3 days agoby clumpsofmascaraGood morning, risk takers! Today I'm doing something incredibly challenging and scary. I make it a habit to push myself to the limit often. You should, too. Come on. DO IT NOW!!

2 days agoby clumpsofmascaraI neeeed time to myself. Marriage and parenthood did not change this. Every morning, I wake up earlier than everyone else. And just be. No demands. No rushing. I do what I want. I sip my tea and pray and read and polish my nails. Or I do nothing. It does SO much for my sanity and peace. Mamas and daddies, give it a try. - [NOTE] This likely doesn't work with newborns. Those tiny humans own every fiber of your being. Happy Friday!

1 day agoby clumpsofmascaraHomemade pasta with seafood bits. A bit salty but ohmigoodness, what a hearty and delicious stew-like bowl of flavors in Winter Park.

4 days agoby clumpsofmascaraSome say red lipstick isn't professional. Oh. Really? I'll make my own rules and still get the job done.

3 days agoby clumpsofmascara#iRepost@tjmaxx : "Wanted for fall: A bold new bag. - Mannnn, why can't I ever find items like this when I'm in TJ Maxx? A purple bag? I want one!!

5 days agoby clumpsofmascaraMy coworker goes, "I haven't bought a lipstick in a year." Oh no!!! She must not know 'bout me. Tomorrow is National Lipstick Day and I've got to get her prepared! Packing her a nice goody bag of lipsticks. I'm the same way if you visit my house. NO ONE leaves empty-handed. Beauty goodies for all!

3 days agoby clumpsofmascaraAnd on today's agenda...food photography. I would love to be a food blogger. But I don't want to cook. Ever.

1 week agoby clumpsofmascaraScooped up some new head wraps from @thewraplife . In loooooove with these prints. Can't wait to chop them for mommy & daughter twin wraps.

4 days agoby clumpsofmascaraSome of y'all have your coffee and then crazy folx like me blend up spinach, an apple and an entire lemon to drink. Had one kid in my stomach craving it and a kid on the outside steal half. Righteous.

6 days agoby clumpsofmascaraBeen tackling my hurr these days. Which is a big deal because I'm usually pretty lazy. Test drove some @LovinMyTextures products and yessss, I LOVE them! Check out my review. It's in the bio. Much love to @lovettehair for my tri-color situation. ❤️

21 hours agoby clumpsofmascara#iRepost@occmakeup : "Introducing our first look at #LipTarRTW , launching on August 14th! Left to right: Vintage, Black Metal Dahlia, Lydia, Anime & Rx! Stay tuned as we reveal the next 5 shades next week!" --- Soooo, makeup and OCC Lip Tar fans, what do we think about this new packaging? I'm kinda excited about it!